REBA: More businesses than ever want to buy clean power
What a difference a year makes. Just 12 months ago, procuring clean power was a daunting process for corporate buyers — in large part because available solar and wind projects were difficult to identify, utilities weren’t always ready to engage and the commercial contracting process was still relatively undefined.
如今，不仅有更多的企业（不仅是跨国公司）积极参与替代电力市场，而且更多的公用事业和开发商也可以接受这个想法。尽管如此，毫无疑问：购买清洁能源仍然很难，尤其是可以直接在公司运营中使用的电力。
The process has become more straightforward thanks in part to the coordinated advocacy of the four non-governmental organizations acting in concert as part of the可再生能源买家联盟（REBA）：BSR，落基山研究所（RMI），世界资源研究所（WRI）和世界野生动物基金会（WWF）。
Although the group has collaborated on an ad hoc basis for several years, their decision to formalize that collaboration12 months agocame at exactly the right time. The mission announced at their launch: help commercial buyers "deploy" at least 60 gigawatts of clean power by 2025 – representing new generating sources. (REBA’s next formalsummitis planned for Sept. 17 to Sept. 19, leading into VERGE 2017.)
So far, the group’s progress is noteworthy. Consider this telling data point: more than 200 companies — including developers, buyers and service organizations — now participate in RMI’s Business Renewables Center (BRC), dedicated to helping make dialogue more accessible. That’s basically double the participants involved in early 2016.
更重要的是，由BRC“市场”代表的项目（潜在和其他方式）的渠道超过23吉瓦。这是一件好事：与4月发布的新报告分开的数据，大前锋3.0，建议超过二十多种财富500强公司致力于使用可再生能源进行全部运营。
RMI的电力实践负责人Lily Donge说：“公司对这一过程变得更加复杂。”“他们更擅长与市场上的开发商进行谈判。”
Sharing best practices
Each of the REBA member organizations contributes to the overriding strategic mission in different areas, from identifying states friendly to their mission to brokering discussions between corporates and utilities to ensuring that success stories get mainstream attention.
BRC最大的任务之一是教育。该小组已经举办了30多个新兵训练营，并发布了案例研究，概述了公司买家和公用事业之间建设性关系的例子，例如电子商务和云计算巨头的背景故事亚马逊与Dominion Virginia Power的安排。
The diversity of companies involved in the renewables movement is evolving quickly, according to Donge. BRC plans to chronicle their experiences so that companies can better understand risks that might be particular to their industry sector.
她说：“并非所有的买家都是一样的。”
One of the most influential buyer groups, of course, remains cloud computing and Internet companies such as eBay, Facebook and Salesforce, all of which are involved with REBA member BSR’sFuture of Internet Power initiative。实际上，他们和其他近20家公司已承诺自己在Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers’ Principles。It’s called theCorporate Colocation and Cloud Buyers’ Principles，并且有六个主要声明，在下面的图形中概述。
BSR的互联网权力倡议的咨询服务经理凯利·加洛（Kelly Gallo）最近几周表示，四个数据中心托管和托管公司 - 一致的能源，Digital Realty，绿山和铁山 - 已致力于维护以云为中心的原则。
加洛说：“我们希望这成为所有使用数据中心的公司的'北极星'资源。”“他们中的一些人不知道这些操作创造的数字碳足迹。”
Bringing utilities into the fold
Since REBA formalized its ties in May 2016, the number of U.S. regulated utilities offering green tariffs, or financial arrangements that enable business to procure clean power more easily and cost-effectively directly from utilities, also has increased.
"They get that they are at risk of losing their loads," said Letha Tawney, director of utility innovation at WRI. "They have woken up to that, and they get that they have a positive role to play."
In April, for example, Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) started谈论新的费率计划这是专门针对可再生电力的大型买家。Facebook还参与了帮助设计计划，该计划迎合了寻求至少20兆瓦产能的公司。该公用事业花了大约四个月的时间来设计产品并获得必要的批准。
"We have recognized the need to continue to evolve our rate offerings to attract new companies and assist with current companies’ expansions," said Tim O’Brien, manager of economic development for OPPD, in a statement. "And we were able to create a new plan, within a rate framework we already had, to support this trend."
另一个值得关注的程序来自华盛顿州，普吉特声音能源（Puget Sound Energy）引入了一个名为"Green Direct"这迎合了城市，公共部门组织和公司。这个想法是找到承诺长期合同的买家，使公用事业公司能够投资于项目。其中已经签署了第一个：金县；包括Anacortes和Bellevue在内的几个城市；以及REI的当地设施，星巴克（希望包括其所有华盛顿州商店）和Target。
Tom MacLean, manager for customer renewable energy development with Puget Sound Energy, credited REI with helping inspire the idea of this program several years ago. "We’re trying to be their energy company of choice, even though they don’t have a choice," he said.
目前，格林直接迎合了相当大的公司。他说，为了参加，一个组织需要做出10年的承诺，每年至少购买至少1000万小时的时间，尽管该公用事业公司希望随着时间的推移适应较小的合同。它的重点是启发本地发展，以使传输成本尽可能低。
麦克林补充说：“在我们被介绍给REBA之前，我们沿着这条路顺利进行，但这对伴侣很好。”“我们在一起成长。我们只是不知道。”
Another state to watch closely is Minnesota, where XCEL Energy got permission in January to sell up to 50 megawatts of a new wind farm to customers directly as part of itsRenewable Connect program。The chart below illustrates where buyers can arrange large-scale deals through the grid. (Click here对于具有有关突出显示市场的更多信息的交互式版本。）
Looking beyond the United States
世界自然基金会气候和可再生能源高级总监Marty Spitzer表示，公用事业公司正在努力提供类似的报价，如果Reba要达到将60吉瓦的清洁能源添加到网格中，这是必要的。毕竟，公司仍然只能直接从美国17个州的开发商那里购买。
据《大力前锋》 3.0报告说，到2016年底，大约半吉加瓦的清洁能力与十个州的特殊合同有关，这些州正在开创该空间，由WWF，Calvert Investments，CDP和CERES合着的大型前锋3.0报告说。
"This is about making renewables the norm," Spitzer said. "Utilities are really starting to get into place and we have spent a lot of time showcasing and helping create those deals."
在来年密切关注的另一个发展是：在美国以外的市场，特别是在印度，中国和墨西哥等地。斯皮策说：“所有REBA成员都有一些全球足迹。”
So it stands to reason that they will seek arrangements in places such as Europe and Southeast Asia, closer to their international operations and to their supply chain partners. "When you do an analysis of the energy consumed by these companies, much of it is in their supply chain," noted Tawney. "Across the board, the REBA partners are hearing a lot of interest from the big buyers in other markets."
